Exercising device



Sept. 29, 1931. L. NOVAK 1,824,920

EXERCI S ING DEVICE Filed Nov. 5, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 L. NOVAK EXERCISING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 29, 1931.

Filed Nov. 3, 1928 gwntoz Sept. 29, 1931. NQVAK f 1,824,920

/ EXERCISING DEVICE Filed Nov. 3, 1928 3 Shets-Sheet 3 40 of Fig. 2; Fig.

Patented Sept. 29, 1931 ntone '01". r wman," idm' 1 I aixnncismefnnvicn' Applicationz'fil-ed November 3, 1928. Serial No.5317,052."2'.-

This invention relates to an-exercisingdevice particularlyone that is intended tobe used in gymnasiums, or in the home fordevelopment' of the arm and back muscles.

- v5 'Heretofore, apparatus employed for {this purpose has usually taken the form out Wall weights which requireconsiderable space to operate and are noteasily adapted for home use. The principal object-of the present in- 10 vention is to provide a simple device which maybe conveniently operated inarestricted space, without being/permanently aflixed to the wall or floor, and which may beicheaply made.

1.5 My invention,

bodies .a carriage on, which extend emhavinghand gripsi thereis obtained bythe user assuming a kneeling position upon the floor with the carriage n front of him and .hands' restingyupon .the

grips. The l carriage, is then pushed outwardly until the armsa-re extended andrthe chest is touching the floor. [The movement is completed by pulling,

the carriage backwardly until the original positionis .attained. To increasethe muscular effort required to perform this movement, provision is made for efii'ectingia braking action upon the carriage movement either during the outward or inward motion. v In the drawings, :F g. 1 's a diagrammatic view of the carriage with;the;two.extreme positions to be occupled duringthe exercise movement; Figs. 2 and 3 are top bottom planviews respectively otthe device embodying my invention; Fig. is a vertical longitudinal section through the device taken on a plane indicated by theline H is a vertical section through the device taken on the plane indicatedby the line 55 in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a bracket in which one of the wheels are intended to be mounted; Fig. 7 is a bottom view of a modified form of casing construction; Fig. 8 is a longitudinalvertical section taken on the line 8-8 in Fig. 7 and Fig. 9 is a perspective viewof one of the brackets used in the modified construc- 750 tion shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

laterally from the carriage and I on opposite sides thereof. The exercise portion 10 which I ten inches in lengthja .at the mid portion.

nailed in the lo f wa d? e ear a n The carriage is i ottom portion adjacent the ds thereof .Haind r p 2 P i t l ere y firo jac n the mid-portion thereof. i 7 I A convenient t in ge eral brackethas a pa a connecting or io jbw pe ie @f. cavities with reference ee r mi nti ch wheel -1Il the bodyis to utilize. abr'aclzet indit 15. illustrated; v each irotdepend-ing L6 and oss piece; 1.7.] .The'f'bra'ckets are mounted. within cavities 120m the body .portion, and.flare intended in 'thje 'ifpresient veine l w hm h function of such movementf is toiinc'reasfe the resistance tooth toniove thefdevice' -.tion.f 5 v e muscular efl'ort required Y 1 rred er ed. rec- I My ".exercising device is capable ofusfe the. muscular .dev 'el any exercise is d M 2 opposed to, the.

' eb e thehi al'i n .ing the resistance to 9 without, the utilization' of means for varying the, resistance to movement, inasmuch? as cem r u ng i sii epe n upo ft resale muscular activity, it is either the outward or inwardmotion, or both, One form olf means upon the ment.

Accordingly, I

fo'rivarlying the resistance embodies the" provision" of abrake which ,is intended to act wheels", during the exercise movehave shown each mounted upon pivot pins,

- Theeiztent of the pivotalfmovement is trolled y. set screws 26 which are illustrated asvextending' thro and ';as. engaging: sp fiire as es- T as sh bar position,

. exe is fth i w e thefbody. Such. mov

arrow;

with the setg crews, and-are kept out iee e ft e .l he

ndicated as having 'a body I n thefform illustrated in Figsnl to 5; comprise a block of wood about ndfour inches in width E Wheels 11. midwifbe made for increas the normal pulling action upon the hand grips tends to pull the body of the carriage ahead of the wheels, thus causing the brackets to turn about their pivotal connections.

On the outward movement, reverse action takes place, and the cross pieces are forced against the ends of the set screws as indicated by the broken lines 17a in Fig. 4. The adjustment of the set screws is such that the wheels are permitted to engage part of the body, which then acts as a brake to resist turning movement of the wheels. The degree of such resistance can be varied to suit the individual requirements of. the user.

In Figs. 7 and 8, I have illustrated a modified form of casing construction as comprising. a one-piece body member 30, having hand grips 31 extendinglaterally therefrom adjacent the mid portion thereof. Recesses 32 are shown adjacent each end of the body portion in which wheels 33 partially extend.

The wheel supporting brackets, indicated in general at 34, are similar to those heretofore described. Springs '35 associated with the set screws 36 function to urge the brackets to the position shown in Fig. 8. In use, the pressure of the operator forces the forward wheel against the partition 37, and the rearward wheel against the transverse end wall 38. This puts a braking action .upon the movement of the wheels. Upon the return stroke, the wheels are withdrawn from frictional engagement with thecasing by the force of the springs. 1 H

An exercising device made in accordance with my invention is advantageous in that it permits performance of desiredexercises without the necessity for expensive equipmentQwhi'ch is more or less permanent in nature, and WhlCh requires considerable wall rand floor space. Moverover, my device is portable and can be readily. carried from place to place. If desired, the exercisemay be taken without the use of the brake, until the muscles are developed to a point where additional resistance is desired. Thereupon the degree of resistance may be controlled in a very satisfactory and expeditious manner.

I claim: 7 v 1. An exercising device adapted to be pushed outwardly from and pulled inward- 1y toward the user, including a pair of 5 wheels arranged in tandem relationship, a

member connecting them, and hand extending. laterally posite' directions wheels, p

2. An exercising device adapted to be pushed outwardly from and pulled inwardgrips from the member in opand intermediate the 'wheel carried by said bracket, means for bracket 'pivotally mounted in the bodv, a

adjusting the limit of pivotal movement of the bracket to provide a variable braking actionbetween the wheel and means carried by the body.

5. In an exercising device, the combination of a body, a pair of wheels carried thereby, hand grips'for moving the body toward and from the user, and means for establishing a braking action on the wheels which acts-for movement in one direction of the body and not in the other direction.

6. An exercising device, comprising in combination a body, said body having a plurality of recesses therein, brackets pivotally mounted within said recesses, wheels rotatably mounted on said brackets, springs interposed between the'bodyand brackets.

for normally'keeping the wheels out of con tact with said body, but allowing contact when the body'is moved in a predetermined direction, and settable means associated with the body and coacting with the bracketsfor preventing contact of the wheels with said body when desired.

"7. An exercising device, adapted to be pushed outwardly from and pulledinwardly toward the user, comprising a body formed of two members, a pair of hand grips extending laterally from the top memher in opposite directions, a pair of brackets mounted for pivotal movement in the bottom member, wheels carried by said brackets and means for limiting movement of the brackets with reference to the body when the body is moved in a predetermined direction.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature.

' LEON NOVAK.

1y toward the user, including a pair of wheels arranged in tandem relationship, a

member connecting them, hand; gripsextending laterally from the member and intermediate the wheels, and means adapted 

